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Northern Shelf
Borders The Northern Shelf region is the entire stretch of land on the northern pole of the world. It is marked by Cawic Keep in the West and the Nymph Woods in the East. It ends in the north at the ice plains marking the Pole and in the south at the coast along the Xanthia, Allas, and Middle Seas. Climate It has a relatively cool climate, easily becoming chilly with the slightest breeze. It is warmer in the summer, but rarely hot enough to move about without a few layers of protection. Most winters see at least a constant inch of snow, with more extreme storms laying down several feet for weeks at a time. As such, monsters have typically holed up in underground dungeons, leaving the world above to its own workings. However, this climate makes it hard to grow crops, so to have successful farmland most towns need to have magic users on hand to counter the weather. Because of this, there are very few isolated settlements to be found; the majority of the population lives together in small-to-large towns where they have more manpower and a higher diversity of skills, giving them a better chance of survival. Geographical Features There is not a lot of geographical diversity on the Shelf. It has three distinct forests, with smaller wooded areas scattered about the rest of the land. It has a flat terrain, with no significant variation in elevation. There are three distinct sections of interest: The Deserted West The West is significant only in that it has mostly been deserted, as it was found the heaviest north winds come through this section. The one major attempt at settlement of the West was on a small island off the Shelf. A mage built the stronghold Cawic Keep and recruited laborers and their families to populate it. It failed, and in light of the many lives tragically lost in this battle against nature, no further attempt was made. The Stretching Center This section is the most connected to the rest of the world, as it's coasts are close to the northern beaches of the Central Islands. It has two cities, Lafeld and Macot, each on a coast, which handle most of the Northern Shelf's trading. Lafeld is considered the capital of the Shelf only in the sense that Lord Rancis' ambassadors are sent there when they need to gather or dispense information. Between the cities lies the Glitterhold Forest, named so for the appearance of the pure snow that covers it nearly year-round. In the forest can be found Caer Dioranwe, a relatively new castle kept by a distant member of the royal family. South of the castle and west of Macot can be found the Keep of Poisoned Tears, a bitter relic of a once-glorious castle laid to waste by the Cruel Crusade when it became a rebel base. The Coastal East To the far east, this section is separated from the Center by a long bare stretch of plains without break or cover. It includes two distinct sets of woods: the Withered Woods, blasted and twisted by evil mages long ago in some long-forgotten battle, and the Nymph Woods, characterized by strong, healthy trees famous for their colorful leaves and flowers. To the west of the Withered Woods lies Rewyn Castle, another set of ruins created by the Crusade after offering help to the wounded on the rebels' side. In between these two opposing forests are the towns of Radun and Hollow. Radun, on the southern coast, is the larger of the two, but is notorious as a port for pirates and other law-breakers, and has a smaller population density. Residents of Hollow, to the north, are uneasy being located so close to Radun, but have maintained the peace through treaties organized by a pair of brothers working in each town's inner circle. To the east of the Nymph Woods is Llaisy, a small, peaceful town populated mostly by elderly magic-users. Many of them have truly exceptional powers, but are tired after a lifetime of serving others, and are ready to settle down and spend their last years quietly with their families. With their incredible cumulative power, they worry little about being taken advantage of or attacked. The last notable feature of the Coastal East is the small, understaffed Dane Stronghold, a base for a small portion of Lord Rancis' Watchers. It lies close to the Eastern Coast and relays information and orders through a well-defended base on the peninsula there. While it has been quiet through most of it's existence, there have been rumors of unusual activity in and around the base this past year. Accessibility It is isolated from the rest of the world, accessible only by ship or individually on flying mounts, rare on the Shelf but more common on the lower continent. The ruler of Lafeld, Alfric Cotte, is one of the few people who have their own flying mounts, but his is unique in that he has tamed his own White Dragon for personal and governmental business.